Global Change Research Programme

 In its ten-year innovation plan launched in 2008, the department of science and technology (DST) identified five grand challenges, one of is the “science and technology for global change, with a focus on climate change”. This is known as the global change grand challenge. The global change grand challenge centres on knowledge generation and technological innovation for appropriate response to global environmental change including climate. An implementation plan for enhancing the scientific understanding of global change is detailed in the “Ten-Year Global Change Research Plan (GCRP) for South Africa” (www.info.gov.za/view/DownloadFileAction?id=104227). By contractual agreement between DST and NRF, implementation of the Global Change Research Plan is managed by the Global Change research Programme within the Knowledge Fields Development (KFD) Directorate of NRF.

The GCRP is structured around four interrelated knowledge challenges namely: (i) Understanding a changing planet; (ii) Reducing the human footprint; (iii) Adapting the way we live; and (iv) Innovation for sustainability. Thematic priorities under the first two knowledge challenges are, to a large extent, being addressed by existing bodies such as the South African Environmental Observation Network (SAEON), the African Earth Observation Network (AEON), the Applied Centre for Climate and Earth Systems Science (ACCESS), and the South African National Space Agency (SANSA). New emphasis is therefore on developing research programmes to address the other two knowledge challenges, hence the large scale Global Change Society and Sustainability Research Programme. Other new initiatives to strengthen the implementation of the GCRP include the Risk and Vulnerability Assessment Centres and dedicated Research Chairs. A national polar research entity is also envisaged